Disclaimer

Mad Hatter's Bookshelf & Book Review routinely receives books from Publishers and Authors for review consideration. When in doubt assume the book comes from a Publisher or if you follow my New Procurement posts I usually describe the source of said book. I still buy a lot of books as well.

It is that time of year when lots of dates are slowly released for Fall books with the first being a late summer release I've been looking for info on nearly weekly. Lev Grossman's hotly anticipated sequel to The Magicians titled The Magician King has a semi official publication date of August 9th. After the way Grossman turned Fantasy on its ear with The Magicians this is at the top of my summer read list. Here is the blurb for The Magician King.

Hailed as a “painfully perceptive novel of the fantastic that brings to mind both Jay McInerney and J. K. Rowling,”* The Magicians was praised as a triumph by readers and critics of both mainstream and fantasy literature. Now Grossman takes us back to Fillory, where the Brakebills graduates have fled the sorrows of the mundane world, only to face terrifying new challenges.

Quentin and his friends are now the kings and queens of Fillory, but the days and nights of royal luxury are starting to pall. After a morning hunt takes a sinister turn, Quentin and his old friend Julia charter a magical sailing ship and set out on an errand to the wild outer reaches of their kingdom. Their pleasure cruise becomes an adventure when the two are unceremoniously dumped back into the last place Quentin ever wants to see: his parent’s house in Chesterton, Massachusetts. And only the black, twisted magic that Julia learned on the streets can save them.

The Magician King is a grand voyage into the dark, glittering heart of magic, an epic quest for the Harry Potter generation. It also introduces a powerful new voice, that of Julia, whose angry genius is thrilling. Once again Grossman proves that he is the modern heir to C.S. Lewis, and the cutting edge of literary fantasy.

Ian Tregillis has posted two free short stories to his site. The first is called "Chronicle of Sorrows" is placed in the world of the Milkweed Triptych and specifically connected to the event so of "What Doctor Gottlieb Saw" that was released last summer. The other is a standalone called "Come Dancefight, My Beloved Enemy." If you haven't had a chance to check out Ian's debut Bitter Seeds than his short fiction is well worth your time.

Cherie Priest's third full length Clockwork Century novel Ganymede will be out September 27th. This time around we get to explore New Orleans with Andan Cly!

The air pirate Andan Cly is going straight. Well, straighter. Although he’s happy to run alcohol and guns wherever the money’s good, he’s not sure the world needs more sap, or its increasingly ugly side effects. But reforming is easier said than done: the captain’s first legal gig will be paid for by sap money, because the Seattle Underground is in dire need of supplies.

New Orleans is not Cly’s first pick for a shopping run. He loved the Big Easy once, back when he likewise loved a beautiful mixed-race prostitute named Josephine Early, but that was a decade ago. He’s still on Jo’s mind, he learns when she sends him a telegram about a peculiar piloting job. It’s a chance to complete two lucrative jobs at once. He sends his old paramour a note and heads for New Orleansl, with no idea of what he’s in for—or what she wants him to fly.

But he won’t be flying. Not exactly. Hidden at the bottom of Lake Pontchartrain lurks an astonishing war machine, an immense submersible called the Ganymede. This prototype could end the war, if only anyone had the faintest idea of how to operate it….if only they could sneak it past the Southern forces at the mouth of the Mississippi River….if only it hadn’t killed most of the men who’d ever set foot inside it.

Now the only question is whether Cly and his crew will end up in the history books, or at the bottom of the ocean.

Lastly, but certainly not least, do check out Genre For Japan, which is a series of auctions for various books, signed artwork, comics, and plenty of other surprises from many different publishers. The auctions are do to go live by the 28th of March and they are still accepting donations.